After Becoming a Cannon Fodder Side Character, I Became the Group’s Favorite (GL) - Chapter 52

Xu Chacha’s request to be “together” didn’t just mean she wanted Wen Mubai to stay; she was happy only after dragging her by the arm and tucking her into the blankets.

“You should sleep first,” Wen Mubai said.

“Cold,” Xu Chacha shivered at the appropriate moment, looking at her pitifully.

“I’ll be right back,” Wen Mubai brushed the hair off her forehead. “Did the painkiller work? Are you still in a lot of pain?”

“Pain…” She couldn’t lie about this. At most, she could distract herself a little, but the pain was still there.

“Wait for me.”

Xu Chacha watched Wen Mubai enter the bathroom and emerge a moment later. The blanket was lifted, and something warm was tucked against her stomach.

“Give me your feet.”

Xu Chacha obediently held out her feet.

“They’re freezing,” Wen Mubai frowned, pressing her hand against the sole of Xu Chacha’s foot. She found a thick pair of socks from somewhere, put them on Xu Chacha, and tucked her back into the blankets.

Her feet and stomach felt much better, but Xu Chacha was still not satisfied. She stared at Wen Mubai intently. “Still cold.”

Wen Mubai naturally understood what she meant. Undoing her jacket, she was left only in a soft sweater underneath. Her slender body lay down next to Xu Chacha, turning sideways in a posture that seemed to encompass her.

Xu Chacha, like an octopus on a cutting board, struggled to flip over, burying her head in Wen Mubai’s chest. She snuggled into the most comfortable and softest position, her movements practiced as if she had done this countless times.

Wen Mubai indulged her completely today, wrapping her arm around her and gently patting her back. “Tell me when the hot water bottle cools down, and I’ll change it.”

Xu Chacha nodded, keeping quiet.

Time passed slowly. Wen Mubai thought she would eventually fall asleep, but Xu Chacha was restless like an eel, constantly struggling in small movements, unable to settle into one position.

Wen Mubai noticed her body trembling in endurance. “Still hurts a lot?”

“It comes in waves.” She kept telling herself to sleep, but the quieter it got, the more pronounced the pain became. She felt it was better to find something to distract herself.

“Legs aching?”

“Aching.” Xu Chacha nodded. Perhaps from enduring the discomfort, there was a slight nasal tone in her voice. “My thighs have been persistently sore.”

“Poor circulation.” Wen Mubai reached over and gently massaged the outside of her thigh with a fist. “Tell me if it’s too hard.”

“It’s not hard.” Although she didn’t know the purpose of the leg massage, she felt less uncomfortable as Wen Mubai massaged her.

The rhythmic thumping, like her mother’s hand patting her back to lull her to sleep when she was little, deepened her drowsiness.

About twenty minutes later, Wen Mubai realized the person in her arms had quieted down. She prepared to replace the hot water bottle on her stomach.

When she reached for it, her hand was grasped. Xu Chacha didn’t open her eyes but could sense her every subtle movement. In a sleepy voice, she said, “Just leave it.”

“It’s cold.”

“Then use this.” Xu Chacha took off the hot water bottle and pulled Wen Mubai’s hand to her lower abdomen. “This is quite warm too.”

Wen Mubai’s fingers touched the soft skin in that area. She subconsciously wanted to pull away, but Xu Chacha held her hand down. The grip wasn’t strong, yet she found it difficult to break free.

Perhaps because it had just been resting against the hot water bottle, the temperature beneath her palm was much higher than normal body temperature—scalding hot. The heat traveled from her palm to her heart, and even her breath escaping her mouth and nose felt hot.

“I should really go change it for you, be good.”

“No.” Xu Chacha raised her voice slightly. “If you go out, the blanket will let the cold air in again, and it just got warm.”

Winter in the South was this humble. No matter how high the air conditioning was set, it didn’t help much in a large room.

At this, Wen Mubai finally stopped moving.

So, this was a trap with no exit from the very beginning, and that’s why she was lured in?

“Alright, you keep sleeping. I won’t leave.” Wen Mubai’s patience with the “patient” was even greater than usual.

Xu Chacha didn’t speak, nodded, and her breathing quickly resumed a long, steady rhythm.

Wen Mubai initially had no intention of sleeping, but listening to her breathing, she somehow also gradually closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already dark outside.

Her first reaction was to look down at Xu Chacha. She noticed that her complexion was better than before, and her lips weren’t as pale, which put her mind at ease.

Then, she quietly got out of bed and quickly tucked the blanket around Xu Chacha, wrapping her up like a silk cocoon, leaving no gap.

Before the little ancestor woke up, she needed to make something to eat.

Xu Chacha’s stomach had suffered a lot today, so she definitely couldn’t handle anything too greasy, but not having eaten all day, plus needing energy for her period, required some replenishment.

She took out the cookbook she had bought and spent nearly ten minutes laboriously settling on an egg roll and lean pork congee with vegetables.

The congee took longer to cook, so it had to be prepared first. Thus, Designer Wen, who was decisive and commanding in the workplace, was fumbling and clumsy cutting vegetables while meticulously monitoring the cookbook. Fortunately, she hadn’t turned on the stove yet and hadn’t managed to blow up the kitchen in the first step.

With all the ingredients ready, she followed the recipe, putting the washed rice into the pot, adding the specified amount of water, and turning the heat up high.

Then she took another frying pan, heated the oil, and put in the shredded pork to stir-fry.

But perhaps she hadn’t drained the water from the meat properly when washing it, because the moment the shredded pork hit the pan, it let out a terrifying sizzling sound. She barely managed to keep her expression calm and didn’t scream, quietly stepping back half a pace until the sound subsided before approaching again.

However, when she tried to flip the meat with the spatula, she found that the meat had clumped together. Some pieces were even burnt and stuck to the bottom of the pan, refusing to budge.

Wen Mubai turned off the heat, discarded the ruined ingredients, and picked up the cookbook again to read. She had followed every step according to the recipe, so why had she failed?

She checked every word, and it only mentioned stirring frequently to prevent the congee from sticking to the pot. There were no precautions listed for stir-frying the meat.

“That shouldn’t be right.”

So, she tried a second time, but the result was the same.

The continuous commotion finally woke Xu Chacha up. Even though Wen Mubai kept burning the meat, it still smelled quite appetizing.

Xu Chacha sat up, her face full of curiosity, wanting to go down and see what Wen Mubai had learned to cook besides egg sandwiches. When she poked her head into the kitchen, she saw a large pile of blackened meat in the trash can.

“…” Do you know how expensive pork is right now?

Xu Chacha’s silence made the atmosphere a bit awkward. Wen Mubai stirred the congee calmly. “Just a minor mistake. It’ll be ready soon. Go sit down first.”

“I’ll do it,” Xu Chacha rolled up her sleeves.

“It’s your period. You can’t touch cold things,” Wen Mubai pulled her sleeve back down.

“So I’m just supposed to stand here and watch you blow up my kitchen?”

“It’s not that exaggerated.”

“You have a history, Ms. Wen Mubai.”

Wen Mubai fell silent. “I’m just not good at handling meat ingredients. You can just help with this step, and I’ll do the rest.”

“Fine, fine, fine.” Xu Chacha nodded, no longer arguing. She had to preserve the last bit of Wen Mubai’s pitiful dignity.

So, even when Wen Mubai butchered the last piece of pork in her refrigerator into large and small “corpses” with the knife and cutting board, Xu Chacha simply watched without a word.

“Is that good enough?”

“You have to cut the meat apart, or it will all stick together.”

It was the first time Xu Chacha had seen someone’s meat-cutting described as “thread-like separation.” She seriously suspected that Wen Mubai might have traded her cooking skills for her intelligence. How could she be so…

Wen Mubai nodded, her long fingers gripping the knife handle, her eyes downcast and fully focused on the meat. Although her knife skills were chaotic, at least her posture looked good.

Ignoring the mess in the kitchen, her serious demeanor actually resembled a surgeon going into the operating room.

Finally, the meat was cut. Xu Chacha turned on the heat to dry the pot, poured in a little base oil, and after a few seconds of heating, she told Wen Mubai to pour the meat in.

Wen Mubai stretched out her arm and performed this step beside her. Once the meat was in, she expertly took a step back and retreated.

Xu Chacha didn’t notice her, having switched to medium-low heat and skillfully stir-frying with the spatula a few times. Then she added the vegetables, fried them until they changed color, and turned off the heat, pouring them directly into the boiling congee.

“I’ll take it from here.”

Xu Chacha clapped her hands and stood aside, watching the woman in the apron. “This business deal seems to be a bit of a loss.”

“Hm?”

“Our canary is really bad at cooking.”

Wen Mubai nodded, but when she looked up at Xu Chacha, she was smiling. “But I’m very good at serving you.”

“…” Damn it.

Xu Chacha was speechless. She waved her hand and walked away in frustration, sitting on the nearby sofa to watch TV.

When she brought the congee and egg rolls, Wen Mubai also brought a cup of milk with white sugar on the side.

“Add as much sugar as you want.”

Xu Chacha always craved sweets more than usual during her period, and Wen Mubai was used to doing this.

“No. Quitting sugar.”

“You won’t gain weight during your period.”

“Even my mom’s age doesn’t believe that anymore.” The words left her mouth before she could think. Xu Chacha realized what she had said and quickly covered her mouth. “I didn’t mean to say you’re old…”

It’s over. That recovery line seemed even worse.

“Yes, we old people like to use these words to trick children.” Wen Mubai added a spoonful of white sugar right in front of her, stirred it, and handed it over. “Drink it, child.”

Those two words made Xu Chacha clench her fists. She hated it when Wen Mubai treated her like a child. Even though she knew Wen Mubai was likely saying it to retaliate, she was still annoyed.

“I won’t drink it,” she maintained her stubbornness.

“You haven’t eaten properly these past few days, have you? Are you really only satisfied when you’ve ruined your stomach?” Wen Mubai raised her eyes to look at her. Even though she tried to be gentle, the sense of pressure was unavoidable.

“This is… figure management.”

“Mindless dieting is damaging your body. Proper management is a combination of exercise and a healthy diet.”

Xu Chacha lowered her head. She almost forgot what this person used to do. Her little tricks were completely out of her depth in front of Wen Mubai.

“I’m short on time. I want to lose weight faster.”

Her weight was actually already on the low side, but there was a saying that the camera adds ten pounds. This was why many celebrities looked fine on screen but were shockingly thin, like skeletons, in real life.

If Xu Chacha wanted to look good in close-up shots, she had to lose more. Although her motivation for returning to work might not be entirely pure, if she was going to do it, she had to do it best.

This was her first shot, and there was no room for error.

“Now that the AS commercial is finished, you’re going to slowly get your body back in shape.”

“Oh…”

Xu Chacha pursed her lips, cupped the milk cup with both hands, and took a sip. The sweet taste was like a long-awaited nectar to her. She couldn’t help but tilt her head back and gulped down more than half the cup.

“It tastes good,” Xu Chacha’s eyes were bright. She stuck out her tongue and licked away the milk residue on her lips.

“Don’t drink so fast,” Wen Mubai held the cup for her, fussing like she was looking after a three-year-old.

Xu Chacha handed the cup to her. “Do you want some?”

Wen Mubai stared at her action, her expression looking quite calm, but she was secretly suppressing a laugh.

Xu Chacha’s behavior was like a kindergarten child sharing a snack. For a woman almost thirty to accept this kind of feeding, her feelings were quite complex.

“Do you think I’m like you?”

“If you don’t want it, you don’t want it. Why the personal attack?” Xu Chacha withdrew her hand.

But after she sat back down, Wen Mubai got up, leaned over her, cupped her chin with her fingers, and turned her head to press her lips against Xu Chacha’s.

All the previous kisses had been actively “tricked” by Xu Chacha. This was the first time she was in a passive position.

She widened her eyes, not daring to breathe, feeling a soft, moist sensation brush across her lips. Then Wen Mubai pulled back.

Unlike Xu Chacha, whose face was flushed red, the refined rogue looked perfectly normal and even commented calmly and matter-of-factly,

“It’s a little too sweet.”

Xu Chacha, however, felt like the broken nerve had just reconnected. She foolishly recalled the sensation she had just felt.

It felt like… a tongue.